Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-07-02

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the Christian religion, teasing him, torment
ing him about his religion, trying to get him
mad. They succeed in getting him mad, say
ing: you're pretty Christian" Does this
young man find it smooth sailing when he
tries to follow Christ Here is Christian girl.
Her father despises the Christian religion;
her mother despses the Christian religion;
her brothers and sisters scott at the Christian
religion; she can hardly find quiet place in
which to say her prayers Did she find it
smooth sailing when she tried to follow Jesus
Christi Oh, mol all who would live the life
OF the Christian religion must suffer persecu-
ton; If you do not find it in one way, you
will get It in another way.
The question was asked: "Who are those
nearest the throne.n and the answer came
back: "These are they who come up out Of
great tribulation ;-great failing, as the
original has it; great failing, great pounding
-"and had their, robes washed and made
white in the blood of the Lamb" Oh, do not
be disheartenedl Oh, child Of Godl take
couragel You are in glorious companionship
God will see you through all these trials, and
He will deliver you.
Ny subject also impresses mo with the fact
that good people sometimes get very much
frightened.
In the tone Of the voice of these disciples as
they rushed into the back part of the boat,
find they are frightened almost to death
They say: Master, carest thou not that we
! perishi" They had no reason to be frightened,
for Christ was in the boat l suppose if we
/ had been there we would have been Just as
nffrightened. Perhaps more
IN all ages very COCA people get very much
affrightened. 1t Is often so in our day, and
men say: Why, look at the bad lectures;
look at the Spiritualistic societies; look at the
! various errors going over the Church of God;
we are going to founder; the Church is going
to perish; she is going down" Oh. how many
good people are affrightened by the iniquity
] in our day, and think the Church of Jesus
| Christ is going to be overthrown, and Just as
much affrightened as were the disciples of my
text. Don't worry, don't fret as though in
iquity were going to triumph over righteous
ness
A lion goes into cavern to sleep He lies
down, with his shaggy name covering the
| paws. Meanwhile the spiders spin web
across the mouth Of the cavern, and say:
''We have captured him." Gossamer thread
after gossamer thread is spun until the whole
front of the cavern is covered with the spi-
ders' web, and the spiders say: "Tbe lion is
done; the lion is fast" After awhile the lion
has got through sleeping; he rouses himself,
he shakes his mane he walks out into thesun-
| light; he does not even know the spiders web
is spun, and with his voice he shakes the
| mountain.
So men come spinning their sophistries and
skepticism about Jesus Christ: He seems to
| be sleeping. They say: I'VE have captured
| the Lord; He will never come forth again
upon the nation; Christ is captured forever.
! His religion will never make any conquest
among men, But after while the Lion of
| the Tribe Of Judah will rouse Himself and
come forth to shake nightly the nations.
! What is the SPIDERS web to the aroused lioni
| Give truth and error fair grapple, and truth
will come off victor
| But there are great many good people
who get aifrightened in other respects; they
oaff ,bn,rA
They say: oh this is strong religious gale;
we are afraid the Church Of God is going to
be upset, and there are going to be great
many people brought into the church that
are going to be of no use to it," and they are
aiIrightened whenever they see revival
taking hold of the churches
As though ship captain with five thou
sand bushels Of wheat for a cargo should say,
some DAY, coming upon deck: Throw over
board all cargo;n and the sailors should say:
why, captain, what do you mean! Throw
over all the cargol "Oh,n says the captain,
i've have a peck of chaff that has got into
this five thousand bushels of wheat, and the
only way 20 get rid of the chaff is to throw
all the wheat overheard Now, that is
| great deal wiser than the talk of a great
many Christians who want to throw over
board all tho thousands and tens of thousands
OF souls who are the subjects of revivals.
Throw all overheard because they are brought
into the kingdom of God through great re-
v1vals, because there is peck of chaif, pint
of chafl l say, let them stay Until the Last
Day; the Lord viii divide the chaff from the
wheat.
Do not be afraid of great revival.
Oh, that these gales from heaven might
sweep through all our churchesl Oh, for
such days as Richard Baxter saw in Kidder-
minister and Robert McCheyne saw in Dundee!
Oh, for such. days as Jonathan Edwards saw
In Northampton | have often heard my
father tell Of the fact that in the early part
OF tins century revival broke out at Soner-
vile, n. j., and some people were very much
agitated about it, They said: "Oh, you are
going to bring too many people into the
church at once;' and they sent down to New
Brunswich to get John Livingston to stop the
revival
Well, there was no better soul in all the
world than John Livingston. He went and
looked at the revival they wanted him to
stop it. He stood in the pulpit on the Sab
bath, and looked over the solemn auditory,
and he said 'This, brethren, is in reality the
work OF God; beware hewyo try to stop it."
And he was an old man, leaning heavily on
his staf-o very old man. And he lifted that
staff, and took hold of the end of that staff,
and began to let it fall very slowly through,
between the finger and the thumb, and he
said: HOh, thou impenitent. thou art falling
now-falling away from life, falling away
from peace and heaven, falling as certainly
as that cane is falling through my hand
ing certainly, though perhaps falling slow
~" And the cane kept on falling through
John Livingstons hand. The religious emo
in the audience was overpowering, and men
saw type of their doom, as the cane kept
falling and falling, until the knob Of
the cane struck Mr.. Livingston's hand, and he
clasped it stoutly and said: "But the grace Of
God can stop you, as stopped that cane;;"
and then there was gladness all through the
house at the fact Of pardon and peace and
talvation. "Well, !" said the people after the /
service, ~ guess you had better send Livings-
ton home; he is making the revival worse"
Oh, for the gales from heaven, and Christ on
board the shlpl The danger of the Church Of
God is not in revivals
Again my subject impresses me with the
fact that Jesus was God and man in the same
being. Here He is in the back part OF the
boat. Oh, how tired He looks; what rad
dreams he must have Look at his counte-
nance; He must be thinking Of the cross to
come Look at Him, He is a man-bons Of
our bone, flesh of our flesh. Tired, He falls
asleep; He is a man. But then ! find Christ
at the prov OF the boat; hear him say:
Peace, be STILL; and see the storm kneel-
ing at His feet, and the tempssts folding their
wings in His presence; He is a God.
III have sorrow and trouble, and want